Treatment of a narcolepsy

In languid embraces of Morpheus of people carries out a third of the life. The full-fledged night dream is necessary to us for restoration of the energy spent for last day. As a rule, 8 hours of a dream for rest, and to the child depending on age – are enough 10–18 hours for the adult.

Various frustration of a dream demand immediate treatment, otherwise quality of life of the patient slowly, but surely decreases: weakness and chronic fatigue prevent to work and enjoy communication with close people normally. The narcolepsy, or Zhelino's illness, remains, perhaps, the most mysterious sleep disorder today.

What is the narcolepsy

Neurologic pathology which prevents a brain to control is the cornerstone of a narcolepsy and correctly to alternate a dream and the period of wakefulness. This frustration is shown by unrestrained desire to sink into a sleep at the most inappropriate moment – at lecture, interview, during an important meeting. To distinguish an initial stage of an illness very difficult as there are tens factors justifying sudden drowsiness: chronic overfatigue, sleeplessness at night, recently endured stress. Often people connect this state with symptoms of the beginning cold therefore the somnologist (the expert who deals with problems of a dream) is reached only by units.

In more detail about a disease

To understand nature of narkolepsichesky frustration, Mirsovetov will tell the readers, according to what scenario the physiological dream of the healthy person develops.

Night rest slows down vigorous activity of consciousness thanks to what communication of the brain which was tired in a day with environment for a while interrupts. The night dream is classified on fast and slow. The slow phase of a dream in turn shares on 4 stages.

So, the dream program is opened by a slow phase. Before falling asleep, the person dozes (the first stage): eyelids already of a smezhena, but in the head still crowd thoughts of events of the lived day. Quite perhaps, what exactly now before an internal look the images embodying the solution of the problems actual in the afternoon will appear.

In the same time of a muscle of a body relax, pulse and breath, being a little slowed down, become more silently and more exactly. The brain "fills up", but from embraces of a dream insignificant sounds can still pull out us: voices in the neighboring room, a car signal from the street, a floor board scratch (the second stage).

The third and fourth stages call transitional. From each other they differ only in number of delta fluctuations. But for us it has no basic value therefore we will not go into details.

Dream in the fourth stage the deepest. It is the most important period of night rest, at this moment the body and the head accumulate energy for vigorous activity during the new day. Without this stage of full restoration of forces at us would not be. At this time to wake the person extremely difficult. At the same time the stage of a deep sleep quite often is followed by unconscious talk and manifestations of sleepwalking.

The first and second phases are a superficial slow dream, the third and fourth – deep. The fifth phase – a so-called REM sleep.

The REM sleep has accurately expressed sign: eyeballs quickly scurry about under the lowered centuries. Feature of a REM sleep is its mission – during this period the brain has not a rest, and opposite, actively works. In parallel heart starts being reduced more often, blood circulation is accelerated, but big muscles are still relaxed. In spite of the fact that the REM sleep is most approached to wakefulness, at once to wake the person who is in this phase, a task not from the simple. The brightest dreams come to us during a REM sleep.

The cycle of a night dream of the person consists of alternation fast and stages of a slow dream. It looks as follows: 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 3 – 2 – 5. On one cycle of a dream about 90 minutes leave. Therefore, during the night of people endures some such cycles.

We just "classified" a dream of the healthy person. At people who suffer from a narcolepsy, night rest is opened by not a slow, but fast phase of a dream (the fifth stage). The statistics registers 1 case of a narcolepsy on 2 thousand people, and attacks of sudden falling asleep most often attack the man's population of the planet.

Clinical picture of a disease

Symptoms of a narcolepsy are shown irrespective of a total number of hours, spent for rest earlier. This peculiar feature also distinguishes an illness from usual fatigue. How the narcolepsy is shown?

During the day impetuous drowsiness starts attacking the person. The attack begins suddenly or after "harbingers" in the form of a headache and the general weakness. Most often it occurs during occupation by something monotonous or at the moment of rest when all muscles are rather relaxed. Sometimes the attack of a narcolepsy "becomes attached" to certain o'clock in the afternoon. For example, the patient can suddenly sink into a sleep, eating food during the lunchtime.

Let's stop on the brightest symptoms of a narcolepsy. Among them:

Strong drowsiness during the day: it can be certain hours, the first or second half of day.

Uneasy night dream with frequent awakenings.

Gipnagogichesky and gipnopompichesky hallucinations. The first arise at once before going to bed when eyes are already closed, the second are shown just before awakening or at its moment.

Cataplexy – lightning loss of a muscular tone because of the extremely negative or pleasant emotions. During an attack of people falls, sometimes it comes to an end with consequences (trauma), unpleasant for it.

The cataplexy when awakening – the person is in consciousness, but cannot move.

Gipergidroz and tachycardia in evening or night time.

Depression.

Actions "on the machine gun" - the person with detachment carries out some task, but does not realize that it does. Patients with a narcolepsy quite often fall asleep in the course of any activity, and after awakening remember nothing it. It is especially dangerous when the consciousness "is switched off" in a preparation time of food or driving.

Causes of illness

Why there is a narcolepsy, it is authentically not known. There is an opinion that pathology has a hereditary origin. It develops because of deficiency of orexin – active agent of a brain which controls awakening and falling asleep. Infectious diseases and problems in private life can become the catalyst of a narcolepsy.

Experts claim that problems of psychiatric and psychological character have no relation to a narcolepsy.

Methods of diagnosis of pathology

To confirm the diagnosis and to establish severity of a narcolepsy, the patient is tested in two ways:

Polisomnografiya. Testing takes place in vitro, in the room which is specially equipped for a comfortable dream where the patient spends the whole night. The small sensors attached to skin of the person fix brain signals, a heart rhythm, force of a muscular tone of all body and physical activity of eyeballs during a dream. Painless procedure gives the chance to establish nature of frustration of a dream.

Next day after a polisomnografiya carry out the MSLT test. During the day the patient has to fall asleep for 15–20 minutes of 4-5 times. The interval between such short-term rest makes 2 hours. By means of connected to the sleeping person of electrodes carry out monitoring of a picture of a dream, so-called pattern. At a narcolepsy dream drawing differs from a pattern of the healthy person radically. Attacks of this disease cause dreams how the person suddenly falls asleep.

How to get rid of a narcolepsy

Treatment of a disease has the good forecast if it is carried out against responsible observance of a daily routine and moderate physical activities.

Apply the medicines stimulating normal alternation of phases of a dream during night rest, and also medicines to correction of a pathological state (Anafranil, Ritalinum, Pemoline) which weaken intensity of manifestation at the patient of a cataplexy and hallucinations. Reception of antidepressants helps the patient to behave more actively during the day.

Today the scheme of treatment which would relieve the person of a narcolepsy forever is not thought up yet. However it is possible to learn to live, having minimized all manifestations of pathology. For this purpose it is necessary to observe hygiene of a dream – always to go to a bed and to wake up at the same time. Smoking, alcohol, junk food – all this the factors aggravating narcolepsy attacks therefore by all means it is necessary to get rid of them.

To the person suffering from narkoleptichesky frustration of a dream recommend to have a rest several times a day for 10–15 minutes, properly to eat, lead active lifestyle and to play sports. The complex of these healthy habits considerably will reduce the frequency of manifestation of attacks of sudden drowsiness.

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